Forums → WEPR → Theism vs. Atheism

So as to prevent duplicate posting and the eventual locking of threads, I need to remind people:

Comments about Christianity as opposed to Atheism (a political debate) should go in that thread. This appears to be a thread for all religious and areligious beliefs.

Technically you can't as a question like
"Whom or what is God?" in a specifically Theism thread because there hundreds of different views, anyway I will answer from what I have learnty thus far.

1. God is an omnipresent, omnipotent being thats sees all, made all and will eventually judge everyone. He is capable of great kindness performing amazing miracles.

2. Time is a result of matter (somehow I'm sure Einstein can explain it) God is not made of matter therefore time doesn't affect im alowing him to be infinite.

3. He was the son of God or God in human form. Either way pretty divine.

p.s. These aren't my views just the best answers I can give to your quiestions

Technically you can't as a question like
"Whom or what is God?" in a specifically Theism thread because there hundreds of different views, anyway I will answer from what I have learnty thus far.

1. God is an omnipresent, omnipotent being thats sees all, made all and will eventually judge everyone. He is capable of great kindness performing amazing miracles.

2. Time is a result of matter (somehow I'm sure Einstein can explain it) God is not made of matter therefore time doesn't affect im alowing him to be infinite.

God in human form

He was the son of God

These aren't my views

Sorry choazmachine first I like to say I don't feel quialified to answer most of your questions and secondly my views are thus. Science is the answer for me personally it has the most proof I have seen unfortunalty I have not yet had some toast with pucture of jesus burnt into it.


On the other hand I do want to believe in something more sometimes just to give life an extra bit of meaning. I do agree with Bill Hicks on a lot as is the case here "The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly colored and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: 'Is this real? Or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say 'Hey! Don't worry, don't be afraid - ever - because... this is just a ride.' And we kill those people.

'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.'

It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that - ever notice that? - and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because... it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy bigger guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over - not one human being excluded - and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace."

exactly. Altruism is the gateway to the better ride. My driving force idea from the christianity vs. atheism thread could be the kinetic energy that tyhe coaster is carrying or the technology on the tracks that lets it move forward. That was just to put the idea in context.

Really there is a VEEEEEEEERY large gray area between theism and atheism, and that is where my idea lies. This thread sahould really bear the title of "theism vs. atheism vs. scientific theism vs. scientific atheism" (though that would not be sufficiently succinct for a thread title) because there are many scientific theists and many unscientific atheists. We need to erase that stereotype if this thread will ever get to the true argument at the heart of this argument.

I believe in theism, and one of the reasons why is simply creation. I don't believe the universe could simply come about on its own and actually work. So my question for all those scientific athiests is "How do you explain the creation?" I know some one will give some big-bang crap, but how do you explain that?

Choazmachine: Regarding the divine composition of God, I think it should be clear that God is not a physical being. If he is infinite, he cannot truly be made out of anything, because even matter and energy have finite limitations. Even time is not infinite. If the universe is his entire construct, then he is completely above it.

Now as for Jesus. In the early days of Christianity there were extremely heated debates as to whether Jesus was actually "in the flesh" or whether he was actually the visual manifestation of a divine force. In the end, the former, the Chalcedonian position, won out, because it was much more explicitly stated in Scripture. In theology we have something called the Hypostatic Union, which states that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. Think of it like a three-legged race with the fastest man in the world tied up with the slowest man in the world. The fastest man is still able to run as fast as he would, but is ultimately limited by his partner.

Sorry choazmachine first I like to say I don't feel quialified

"How do you explain the creation?"

I believe in theism, and one of the reasons why is simply creation. I don't believe the universe could simply come about on its own and actually work. So my question for all those scientific athiests is "How do you explain the creation?" I know some one will give some big-bang crap, but how do you explain that?

Ok. Like I have said in the Christianity vs. Atheism thread, I am agnostic. However, I am not so completely agnostic that I won't form my own opinions and state them.

I do believe in the Big Bang Theory, to a point. I do, however, believe that some higher power started the Big Bang and just stepped aside to let things unravel for themselves. I am not atheist so I'm not going to say there is no God, but I'm not going to say that the higher power is the acclaimed God in monotheist beliefs. All I'm saying is something started the Big Bang and just let things happen. This is just my belief.

I was watching Final Fantasy the movie from like 2000. And I noticed it was really close to what Scientology believes in. I just thought it was funny.